Missouri Makes It Illegal for Teachers and Students to Be Facebook Friends

An new Missouri law, aimed at protecting children from sexual predators, has made it illegal for teachers and their past and present school-aged students to friend each other on Facebook.

The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act does allow teachers to set up a classroom-related groups on Facebook or other social networking sites, provided parents and other school officials are free to join.

The act is named after a Missouri public school student who was molested by one of her teachers.

Critics of the bill say that private teacher-student Facebook friendships give students an important venue in which they can discuss personal issues with a trusted adult.